Magic Johnson-Larry Bird showdown near top of CBS Sports' best NCAA tournament moments

The 30th anniversary of the 1979 national championship game was celebrated at the Final Four in Detroit.AP Photo

There has been a memorable moment or two in the first 74 years of the NCAA tournament.

So for the 75th anniversary, CBS Sports tackled the task of coming up with a countdown of the — wait for it — 75 best, and Michigan State and Michigan were represented throughout.

The 1979 national championship game between Magic Johnson's Michigan State team and Larry Bird and Indiana State ranked No. 3 overall, behind only Christian Laettner's buzzer-beater in 1992 and eight-seeded Villanova upsetting Georgetown in the 1985 title game.

"Most of America defines 1979 as being the seminole moment in the history of the NCAA," broadcaster Tim Brando said on the countdown show.

Added Clark Kellogg: "You had two guys out there that were redefining their positions for the next couple decades."

The Magic-Bird national championship game remains the most watch college basketball game in history, with approximately 35 million viewers.

A quick look at other moments that made the countdown:

12. George Mason's run to the Final FourAs a No. 6 seed, Michigan State was a first-round victim to the Patriots' run, which also included upsets over North Carolina and Connecticut.

14. Chris Webber's timeout against North CarolinaMichigan trailed by two when Webber rebounded a missed free throw with 19 seconds left. After getting the ball down the court, Webber called for a timeout the Wolverines didn't have. Technical foul. Game over.

"It just lets you know the magnitude of the moment. The pressure got to him," said Antawn Jamison, a former Tar Heel (who didn't play in that game). "To make a mistake like that, to have something you've worked so hard for and come up short, it's just the toughest thing to deal with."

50. Rumeal Robinson sinks clutch free throwsRobinson hit two free throws with 3 seconds left to give the Wolverines a victory over Seton Hall in the 1989 national championship game. Robinson was shooting just 64.9 percent on free throws heading into the game.

55. Fab Five falls victim to Duke's back-to-back titlesThis item was more about Duke becoming the first team since John Wooden's dynasty at UCLA to win consecutive crowns, but also deserves note because of Michigan's five freshmen starting in the championship game.

59. Mateen Cleaves wills Spartans to 2000 titleThe most recent Big Ten team to win a national championship, Cleaves and the Flintstones had a memorable time at Michigan State that included three Final Fours.

"The qualities he brought, as a leader, as a player, personality, guts … I think Mateen Cleaves is still Tom Izzo's favorite player, over all those years at Michigan State," CBS broadcaster Verne Lundquist said.

And Spartans fans probably still can here Jim Nance's call as that buzzer sounded: "Leave it to Cleaves, he has reinstated the Magic at Michigan State."